Similarities & Differences between Canada & the

Similarities & Differences between Canada & the United States

The following
is a table consisting of facts about Canada and the United
States, as recent as Jan 1, 2001 (unless otherwise indicated).

Â

Canada

United
States

Difference

Total
Area

9,976,140
sq km
------------------------ 3,851,788 sq mi

9,629,091
sq km
------------------------ 3,717,792 sq mi

Canada
has 3.5% more land.

Population

31,592,805

278,058,881

US has
8.8 times greater population.

Age Structure

0-14 years:
19%
15-64 years: 68% 65 years +: 13%

0-14 years:
21%
15-64 years: 66% 65 years +: 13%

US has
a slightly younger population.

Population
Growth Rate

0.99%
growth

0.90%
growth

Canada
is growing in population by a slightly higher rate.

Birth
rate

11.21
births/1,000 population

14.2
births/1,000 population

US has
slightly higher birth rate.

Death
Rate

7.47
deaths/1,000 population

8.7
deaths/1,000 population

US has
slightly higher death rate.

Net migration
rate

6.13
migrants/1,000 population

3.5
migrants/1,000 population

Canada
has 1.8 times as many migrants as the US, per capita.

Sex Ratio

0.98
male/female

0.96
male/female

Canada
has slightly more males per capita.

Life expectancy

79.56
years

77.26
years

Canada
has slightly higher life expectancy.

Ethnic
groups(1992)

White:
82.4%

Asian: 11.2%

Amerindian: 3.8%

Black: 2.7%

White:
83.5%

Black: 12.4%

Asian: 3.3%

Amerindian: 0.8%

US has
a slightly higher White population, and 4.6 times as
many Blacks. Canada has 3.4 times as many Asians, and
4.8 times as many Amerindians. All per capita. (see
below for interpretation of results)

Religions(1989)

Roman
Catholic 42%

Protestant 40%

Jewish 1%

Other 17%

Protestant
56%

Roman Catholic 28%

Jewish 2%

Other 14%

US has
1.4 times more Protestants than Canada. Canada has
1.5 times more Roman Catholics than US.
US has 2.0 times more Jews than Canada. All per capita.

Literacy
(1986)

97.0%

97.0%

None.

GDP(2000)

$774.7
billion

$9.963
trillion

US has
12.9 times greater GDP.

GDP per
capita(2000)

$24,800

$36,200

US has
1.5 times greater GDP per capita.

Unemployment
Rate(2000)

6.8%

4.0%

Canada
has 1.7 times more unemployed persons, per capita.

Trading
Partners - Exports / Imports (2000)

US:
86% / 76%

Japan:
3% / 3%

UK:
<1% / <1%

Canada:
23% / 19%

Mexico:
14% / 11%

Japan:
8% / 11%

US
is Canada's largest trading partner. Canada is US's largest
trading partner.

External
Debt

$253
billion (1996)

$862
billion (1995)

US has
3.4 times more debt in total.

External
Debt per capita

$8,088
(1996)

$3,128
(1995)

Canada
has 2.6 times more debt per capita.

Highways
(paved)

318,371
km
------------------------197,836 mi

3,732,757
km
------------------------2,329,614 mi

US has
11.7 times more highway miles.

Military
expenditure as % of GDP

1.3%

3.2%
(1999)

US
spends 2.5 times more money on the military as expressed
in % of GDP.

ODA
Economic AID expenditure as % of GDP (1999)

0.28%

0.10%

Canada
publicly spends 2.8 more money on economic AID as expressed
in % of GDP.

Environment
(Pollution Control) expenditure as % of GDP (1999)

1.1%

1.6%

US
spends slightly more money on pollution control as expressed
in % of GDP.

Health
Care expenditure as % of GDP (1998)

Public:
6.6%

Private:
2.9%

Total: 9.5%

Public:
6.1%

Private:
7.5%

Total: 13.6%

Canada
spends slightly more money publicly. US spends 2.6 times
more privately, and 1.4 times more in total as expressed
in % of GDP.

Average
Minimum Wage

$4.49
US------------------------$6.72 CDN

$5.15
US------------------------$7.71 CDN

US
has a 13% higher minimum wage than Canada, on average,
taking into consideration currency exchange.

Representatives
of Government (Legislative)

Parliament
Members: 301

Senators:
105------------------------ Total per 1 million pop: 13.0

House
Members:435

Senators:
100------------------------
Total per 1 million pop: 1.9

Canada
has 6.8 more representatives per capita.

United
Nations rating

3rd

6th

An arbitrary ranking
based on some statistics and a rating system. (see below for
more information)